The Caroline Dress

I’m going to go out on a limb and say I’ve reached the height of my crafty mom status. I had a party to go to, so I made myself a dress. Possibly my first “mom-dress” too. I’m not sure I own anything that hits just above my knee. Oh, the modesty motherhood brings. And the shopping problems height give me. All dresses in store right now are either weirdly mid-calf, short, or really really short when I put them on.

I have a whole pile of patterns (slash folder of PDFs that haven’t even been printed yet), but I kept making excuses and didn’t get to any of them. When I started seeing some of the testing images for the Ladies’ Caroline by Hayley Crouse at Welcome to the Mouse House, I knew it was the dress I had to make! Particularly the set on Lexi Made. Her fabric choices are incredible! I went with the blue feathers from Anna Maria Horner’s Field Study Collection. I’ve been hoarding it since last summer hoping to make myself a dress.

Since I made the dress, picture were needed. I apparently only know one pose no matter where I stand. To the side, one foot back, tilt the head, smile. It’s all I’ve got. I’m sorry you won’t have a huge variety in this post.

I won’t count this toward my 12 in 12 since I bought the pattern the day it came out last week. Let’s talk about why I had to have it first. So much variety, so many options. It comes in sizes 0-22. It has 4 different hem length options (peplum, above the knee, at the knee, below the knee), 5 different sleeve lengths (faux cap sleeve, sleeveless, short, 3/4 length, and long), 2 options for skirt style (pleated or gathered), 2 neckline heights, optional peter pan collar, optional belt loops, and optional pockets (but who are we kidding pockets should not be optional in a dress)!

Technically I went with below the knee and hemmed in a bit extra. The pattern is drafted for 5’5″. That I am not. Above the knee would have given me a mini. How much fabric I had left to cut my skirt from would have given me a micro mini. Just pretend I didn’t run out of feathers and the color blocking was intentional. It looks intentional, so let’s just leave it at that. I also chose the higher neckline, a gathered skirt, and the cap sleeves.

Pockets were not even a question for me. I’m a mom. I have stuff to carry around. I got to take my phone and keys into the party without wearing a coat or carrying a bag. And where else would I have put my hands during my awkward and nervous “photo shoot”.

This was:
a.) the first dress I’ve made for someone over the age of 1
b.) the first time I’ve done an invisible zipper
c.) the first time I’ve made myself clothing in over 20 years
d.) all of the above

Hayley’s instructions were incredibly easy to follow and I’m so glad I made the leap. I’ve seen the pattern listed as Advanced Intermediate for skill level. I had some stitch ripping to do when I attached my lining to my zipper… but every good seamstress owns a good seam ripper, right? I think I have 3.

Things I learned:
– I definitely feel weird in front of the camera.
– I would much rather have a dress form to make myself dresses, but trying to pull it off until I have the funds for the one I want isn’t SOOOOO bad. (I managed to not bleed while pinning on myself, so I still win!)
– I am far more anxious for Spring weather than I realized
– I need to make ALL THE DRESSES